Highlights from ‘Electric Daisy Carnival’ New York

Trembling bass filled your chest the minute you entered the parking lot of New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. A sea of neon-clad 20-somethings dotted the horizon, peeking out from behind the full-scale carnival rides, life-size art installations, and massive main stages. Insomniac Events’ Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) had transformed the area behind the sports complex into a world of celebration and discovery for 50,000 ravers. It was a sight to behold, regardless of your musical taste or festival fashion.

More than 70 artists played on four different stages over the course of two days, including major acts like Calvin Harris, Tiesto, Martin Garrix, Bassnectar, Afrojack, Steve Angello and Hardwell. The fact that there were essentially two main stages (you could even argue three) helped disperse the crowd so that none of the dance floors ever felt too crowded. In fact, it was a treat to watch some of the early acts play on the stage inside MetLife Stadium, as only a few hundred fans bopped and twirled around the panel-covered football field. It was also a breath of fresh air compared to EDC’s New York stop last year at Citi Field, which was marred by cramped stages and pervasive sound bleed.

Day 1 started in high spirits, with notable performances from the funky, bass-heavy Kastle and energetic, electro house DJ 3LAU, but a late-afternoon thunder shower (okay, torrential downpour) forced the organizers to temporarily shut down the festival just as it was beginning to kick into high gear. Throngs of soggy festivalgoers waited impatiently inside the stadium for about an hour until a voice came over the loudspeaker informing them they could return to the puddle-trimmed dance floors.

The rest of the night went off without a hitch, with recent Grammy-winner Cedric Gervais, disco-house duo Oliver and the young Martin Garrix coaxing the crowd back onto their (soaking wet) feet. The ever-energetic Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano brought their self-described brand of “big, sexy and moving” house music to the circuitGROUNDS stage; an atmosphere they said reminded them of their home back in Amsterdam. “New York, they love to move and bounce, and that’s what we like,” James said in an interview. “It was a great connection between us and the crowd.”

Deep-house heads and techno aficionados got their fill of dirty, underground beats at neonGARDEN as Carl Cox and Loco Dice took over the tent for nearly four hours, playing individually and then back-to-back to close out the night. However, it was No. 1 DJ in the world Hardwell who was arguably the main attraction of the night. A veteran of New York City’s other major electronic music festival Electric Zoo, this was Hardwell’s the first time playing EDC New York (EDC NY performers cannot play both festivals).

Hardwell said the biggest challenge of all his success so far is keeping it that way. “It’s a pressure on your shoulders. Back then, I was playing for my fans and those fans voted me the number one DJ in the world. Now, my fans are still there, but there’s another crowd with them who say, ‘oh, you’re the number one DJ in the world, show me what you got.’”

Playing a set chock-full of Hardwell classics, such as ‘Dare You’ and ‘Jumper,’ new remixes of Bingo Players’ ‘Knock You Out’ and Armin van Buuren’s ‘Ping Pong‘, and a few IDs off his upcoming album, the Dutch heavyweight delivered a set fit for old and new fans alike. Paired with a pyrotechnics display worthy of the Fourth of July, the young DJ closed out the festival on a high note.

Bennett Sell-Kline for Insomniac

The infectious energy and positive vibes reached new levels on Day 2 as Mother Nature treated New York to a clear, summer day. The dance party started early as Detroit legend Marc Kinchen (MK) dropped a groovy, dubby house set featuring many of his own remixes, such as Storm Queen’s ‘Look Right Through‘ and his crowd-pleasing rendition of Disclosure’s ‘White Noise.’ Skream followed with a crisp, clean performance, while British band Rudimental got the party going inside the stadium with an energetic, soulful, live performance.

Martin Garrix went on to play his second set of the weekend, attracting an even bigger crowd than on Day 1. Known for his platinum hit ‘Animals,’ the 18-year-old DJ/producer says he’s “super tired” of playing the song that skyrocketed him to main stage fame. Nonetheless, he said he is still very grateful for all that it has afforded him to do, which include upcoming collaborations with the likes of Afrojack, Tiesto and Ed Sheeran. “That track is why we’re here right now,” he said.

Calvin Harris, Steve Angello and Tiesto served as Sunday’s other big headliners, while Ferry Corsten and Markus Schulz joined forces as the energetic trance duo New World Punx. However, it was German-born producer Alexander Ridha, a.k.a Boys Noize, who delivered one of the most refreshing sets of the day. Not afraid to test the crowds’ limit, Ridha touched on everything from hip-hop to disco. With upcoming collaborations with Chance the Rapper (“it’s too fresh to talk about,” he said in an interview), and a new project with Canadian pianist Chilly Gonzales called ‘IVORY TOWER’ (“I am so excited about this”), such diversity was no surprise.

“Playing EDC is something special. It’s like some sort of surreal, dream dance world,” Rihda said. “It’s always a pleasure to play this festival.”

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Speakeasy is a blog covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by Barbara Chai and Jonathan Welsh with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at speakeasy@wsj.com or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually @barbarachai.